According to the DAILY STAR, the BBC has put plans in place to keep the sci-fi show on air for another five years.

And they see no reason why it cannot continue beyond that date.

Writer Steven Moffat has revealed that when the Beeb brought the show back in 2005 with Christopher Eccleston, 51, and Billie Piper, 32, he never expected it to carry on for so long.

But in an interview he says: “I didn’t think it would last 10 years with BBC Worldwide trying to get me in a room to talk about their plan for the next five years.

“So it’s going to do a minimum of 15 years.”

Doctor Who was launched in 1963 and then axed in 1989 before being revived.

Bosses warn the show, currently starring Peter Capaldi, 56, and Jenna Coleman, 28, can only survive if they find the actors to play the Time Lord and writers who are real fans.

Moffat, 53, admits to Doctor Who Magazine: “It’s not easy to fi nd new Doctors.”

BBC drama chief Ben Stephenson adds: “As long as the people looking after it are passionate, and the BBC is passionate about it, there is no reason why it can’t do another 50 years.”